I currently have almost 100 hrs. on my boat and was wondering if anyone reccomends synthetic oils or should I stick with the standard 15w40 mobil 1300 oil that the dealers put in? should i ses a higher quality filter than the MC one? where will the synthetic make a difference.. in life of the motor or performance? thanks!!

bigmac

11-03-2008, 11:46 AM

No, synthetic won't make any difference to your engine's performance or longevity. Do get an oil filter that is better quality than the Fram-made PZ-3 that MasterCraft and Indmar recommend as part of their marketing agreement with Pennzoil. One good choice of filter is the Wix 51069 or the NAPA Gold 1069 (same filter).

tomo6188

11-03-2008, 02:05 PM

Thanks BigMac but why does it not help on the MCX thats is the same thing that my dealer told me. I see on most cars that sythetic is a better oil.

bigmac

11-03-2008, 02:10 PM

Thanks BigMac but why does it not help on the MCX thats is the same thing that my dealer told me. I see on most cars that sythetic is a better oil.I don't agree that synthetic is a better oil. Who says it is? Not the mfgrs...it's the oil companies. Most new cars these days with their 5 year 50,000 mile warranties put the mfgr on the hook for warranty repairs for a long time. You have to wonder why they don't spec synthetic in their maintenance requirements...

Synthetic oil has some advantages, but generally not worth the cost, and certainly not in terms of engine longevity. The REAL advantage is marketing hype.

tomo6188

11-03-2008, 02:28 PM

well.. GM, BMW and Jaguars rewuire you to use sythetic oils in their vehicles with aluminum motors. I know the oil companies hype up their product as well but I just dont get why it would not be better. The cost is much higher and the sythetic oil does not break down as fast according to the oil companies.:confused:

TMCNo1

11-03-2008, 07:20 PM

well.. GM, BMW and Jaguars rewuire you to use sythetic oils in their vehicles with aluminum motors. I know the oil companies hype up their product as well but I just dont get why it would not be better. The cost is much higher and the sythetic oil does not break down as fast according to the oil companies.:confused:

Good point, and if GM, BMW and Jaguars rewuire you to use sythetic oils in their vehicles with aluminum motors, then I'd be at the auto parts store sitting in a lounge chair in the morning waiting for them to open. Be sure to get the best of the best, it's better, don't get the cheap synthetic!

Stephen Nordquist

11-03-2008, 07:38 PM

I worked for a large super market chain in chicago that had its own fleet of trucks. As an experiment we ran a truck on nothing but synthetic oil for one hundred fifty thousand miles. When we overhauled the engine we could not find any measurable wear. we were sold on synthetic oiL after that test.

bigmac

11-03-2008, 08:48 PM

well.. GM, BMW and Jaguars rewuire you to use sythetic oils in their vehicles with aluminum motors. I know the oil companies hype up their product as well but I just dont get why it would not be better. The cost is much higher and the sythetic oil does not break down as fast according to the oil companies.:confused:It's competent oil, and appropriate in some uses. It's not the magic engine salvation that TV ads and anecdotes like above would have you believe. I use it in the winter for easier starting at -20 F. GM recommends either 5W30 synthetic, or 0w30 mineral oil when it gets that cold. There are appropriate uses where synthetic oil is a good idea. Cold weather is one. Dunno about aluminum heads. But if synthetic oil were best, GM would recommend it across their lineup, and it would certainly be spec'd in heavy equipment.

The misinformation and misunderstanding about oil never ceases to amaze me. It started way back in the days right after they discovered Pennsylvania crude and was really bumped along by Andy Granatelli (STP), the PT Barnum of the oil biz.

Doug G

11-03-2008, 09:12 PM

cuz oil breaks down alot in 50 hours eh? I find the stuff the dealer puts in to be just fine. Every time I look at the dipstick it is a nice golden color with a twinge of brown. If there is a question about a possible oil related failure the conversation will start with "well it's the stuff you put in, following the factory schedule so I guess maintenance wasn't the issue" But changing it every 50 I doubt that's ever going to happen.

ted shred

11-04-2008, 08:00 PM

A real synthetic oil (amsoil, schafer's, redline,mobil 1) are far superior to conventional refined oils. Better fuel economy, less wear, longer drain periods and less high temp breakdown. Maybe that's why the US military has used synthetics for almost fifty years.

tomo6188

11-04-2008, 10:00 PM

I guess I could see that MC does not recommmend synthetic because they recommend oil changes after 50 hrs not 3000 miles like a car. But I still think it would be better to run sythetic. I dont know about you guys but I sure use my boat to its fullest potential. I maintain it very well but it gets used fairly hard.

FrankSchwab

11-04-2008, 10:02 PM

Uh, ted, got any credentials to help you back up your statements? Something other than the advertising copy above the Amsoil display?

I've heard some of the posters in this thread mention their backgrounds previously.

/frank

bigmac

11-04-2008, 10:10 PM

I guess I could see that MC does not recommmend synthetic because they recommend oil changes after 50 hrs not 3000 miles like a car. But I still think it would be better to run sythetic. I dont know about you guys but I sure use my boat to its fullest potential. I maintain it very well but it gets used fairly hard.

GM does Reccomend synthetic on the Corvette they say use mobil 1 and as i said earlier the aluminum gm blocks are ones that use synthetic

scramison

11-05-2008, 02:46 AM

Due to the fact that a boat engine is run in the high rpm range for sustained amounts of time I would defiantley run synthetic.

This is a sore subject over on one of my favorite motorcycle forums. Synthetic oil is better and if your the type that would rather be safe than sorry when it comes to your expensive nice boat, than its worth a few extra bucks.

Opinions are like a$$holes everyone has one.

bigmac

11-05-2008, 03:43 AM

Due to the fact that a boat engine is run in the high rpm range for sustained amounts of time I would defiantley run synthetic.

Ah...the old sheer-stability hype. What's the difference in sheer stability between a PAO-based lubricant and an oil based on Group II base stocks? Most people don't know the answer to that question. They tout synthetic entirely because of the marketing hype.

Synthetic won't hurt anything, it's just pointless in most applications, certainly including inboard tow boat engines with 50-hour drain intervals. In fact I do use synthetic in my motorcycle, but I acknowledge that it's pointless. The reason I do is because I can use the same stuff in my transmission and chain case. It simplifies fluid changes for me. I run it in my car in the wintertime because -20 F is pretty common around here.